"Was the war worth the cost?" Polls

[The Duke]

I just have a quick thought about polls that ask "Was the war worth the cost?".  Before the war began, my friends (who mostly know nothing about politics) wanted to know what I thought would happen in this war.  One asked how many Americans would die, I said about 500 would likely be killed if we had to face some solid amount of street fighting, about 150 if we didn't.  When asked how long I thought it would take, I said it would take 16 days to reach Baghdad if we had a northern front (still undetermined at the time), and 20 days if we didn't have one.  I was off by one day on how long it owuld take to get to Baghdad, and off by maybe ten dead Americans on how many casualties would be taken in the absences of street fighting.

These were my expectations going in.  We all had our own expectations.  Mine were confirmed rather strongly.  Since the fall of Baghdad, though, I have been dissappointed and angered by what I consider dead soldiers as a direct result of the incompetence of George W. Bush, Paul Bremer, and Donald Rumsfeld.  Ou dealings with Muqtada al-Sadr, our dealings with Fallujah, our softness on Iran and Syria (both of whom are aiding this insurgency), and our failure to transfer power to native Iraqis as quickly as was done in Afghanistan are all examples of the frustraating mistakes made by US policymakers that has directly led to more violence and more dead American soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

So I suppose on some level, I do not think the war was worth it either, because we could have done this at a much lower cost to ourselves and in a way that would produce much greater return.  All that said, I consider myself a neoconservative, I support the war, and George Bush's willingness to destroy terrorist sponsoring states is the main reason I will be voting for him and not his opponent in November.  Bush gets details wrong, Kerry gets the big picture wrong.

You'll notice then, that if asked about the cost versus rewards of the war, I will answer in a way that reflects negatively on the administration.  If asked about righteousness of the war, or about whether I support the mission, you will get an answer that makes Bush look good.  It is the latter poll number that I think will be more important.

Recent polls show Americans are unhappy with the cost of the war, and they should be.  But polls also show that they still support the war, as well they should.  Liberals should stop trying to use one number as a substitute for another.

[MarkDel]

John,

I don't think it was "incompetence" on the part of Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney as much as it was a lack of political will to do the right thing in the face of public opinion.

[??????????]

John,

I don't think it was "incompetence" on the part of Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney as much as it was a lack of political will to do the right thing in the face of public opinion.

Exactly. This is my statement if I became president, "I would rather go down doing what I feel is right then waffling and doing what the polls say." Damn the polls do what's right! The should have leveled Fallujah after those guys were burned and hung. Our problem is we have failed to really get tough with these animals.

[opebo]

John,

I don't think it was "incompetence" on the part of Bush/Rumsfeld/Cheney as much as it was a lack of political will to do the right thing in the face of public opinion.

Exactly. This is my statement if I became president, "I would rather go down doing what I feel is right then waffling and doing what the polls say." Damn the polls do what's right! The should have leveled Fallujah after those guys were burned and hung. Our problem is we have failed to really get tough with these animals.

hear hear!  History shows it is possible to rule those people - Saddam did it, the Ottomans did it, heck even the British did it.  We can do it too, given sufficient ruthlessness.

[??????????]

The breakup of the Ottoman empire and the British occupation go to the heart of the problem with the modern middle east. Damn Treaty of Versailles and World War 1.

[opebo]

The breakup of the Ottoman empire and the British occupation go to the heart of the problem with the modern middle east. Damn Treaty of Versailles and World War 1.

Couldn't agree more - and the breakup of the Hapsburg Empire caused all the Balkan troubles.

[??????????]

The breakup of the Ottoman empire and the British occupation go to the heart of the problem with the modern middle east. Damn Treaty of Versailles and World War 1.

Couldn't agree more - and the breakup of the Hapsburg Empire caused all the Balkan troubles.

That's when the better part of my family lost power.